Easy Smoky Pressure Cooker Ribs

This recipe for Smokey Pressure Cooker Ribs requires two things: a pressure cooker and a smoker. Get perfectly tender, smoked ribs in under 2 hours,with minimal hands-on time. If you’re a barbecue purist who doesn’t like sauce on their ribs, you will love this recipe. If you’re a bad pre-planner who wants last minute ribs, this one is for you.

BARBECUE SAUCE VS. NO SAUCE

I’ve seen a lot of recipes for pressure cooker ribs and they look good–with one exception. Almost all of them ask you to first pressure cook the meat, and then slather sauce and broil them in the oven.

I’m a barbecue purist who doesn’t like to coat her meat in barbecue sauce. I think when you make ribs or brisket, you should taste the meat, not the sauce. If you really want some sauce then I think you should serve it on the side, so as to not hide the taste of the meat. But that’s just me.

But how do you make ribs in a pressure cooker that taste smokey? I have an electric smoker that I absolutely love. I don’t understand how I did keto and low carb for almost four years before getting a smoker. (Here’s a post that tells you what I love about this smoker). It is however something that requires a little floor space.

One of my readers has a Nordicware smoker that she speaks highly of, and the reviews on Amazon look great as well, so perhaps that is an alternative if you have a smaller area in which to store a smoker.

But if you’re trying to low carb, and want something that’s easy, not fussy, and delicious, I would highly recommend a smoker. I basically just throw meat on there–and it comes out delicious. It’s insane how easy this is.

HOW DOES SMOKING WORK?

I use hot smoking to cook my meats, which means the temperature is set to about 225F – 250F. I also use wood chips to add flavor and aroma. As the wood chips burn, they caramelize and release carbonyls, which add both flavor and aroma to the meat being cooked/smoked. Different wood chips have different levels of various compounds and sugar molecules, so they can all produce a different flavor.

At the risk of annoying purists, I will say that I haven’t yet started to worry about that. I just pick the closest bag of wood chips, the meat that I want to smoke, and I have at it.

I’m sure I will experiment more carefully over time, but if you’re starting out, I’m just saying even this slapdash method produces some of the best-tasting meat I’ve ever had.

If you’ve been intimidated by the thought of learning the art of smoking before trying it, here’s what I did. I bought a highly-rated smoker. I plugged it in. I seasoned some meat with whatever sounded good and threw it in there. I had the best Mexican-seasoned pork shoulder I’ve ever eaten.

The only thing I read was this little Smoking Temperature Chart that shows you how long, what temperature, and what internal temperature you need. That’s it. No manual, nothing. I tell you, it’s idiot-proof.

COOKING PRESSURE COOKER RIBS

There’s no way to get around this–your ribs will be boiled. They won’t be slow roasted, they won’t be crispy, they will be boiled. But. They can still be very tasty and importantly, by following this recipe, you can have smokey, perfect ribs in 2 hours versus the 6-8 hours you might otherwise need to smoke them.

The slow smoking also crisps up some of the fat, so to me this is the best of both worlds–authentic smoked taste, as well as speed.

I will say that I don’t think your ribs should necessarily fall of the bone. They should be tender, and well-cooked, but falling off the bone means they’re overdone and floppy and perhaps even a little mushy. If you like your ribs that way however, all you have to do is pressure cook a little bit longer.

You may also want to check out my Keto Instant Pot Cookbook–the only Keto Cookbook authorized by Instant Pot. This cookbook is full of delicious recipes that even your non-keto Family will love.

5 from 3 votes

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Easy Smokey Pressure Cooker Ribs

Prep Time

5mins

Cook Time

2hrs

Total Time

2hrs5mins

This recipe for Smokey Pressure Cooker Ribs requires two things: a pressure cooker and a smoker. Get perfectly tender, smoked ribs in under 2 hours,with minimal hands-on time. If you're a barbecue purist who doesn't like sauce on their ribs, you will love this recipe. If you're a bad pre-planner who wants last minute ribs, this one is for you.